Is Ontario ready to ‘live with COVID-19’?
The majority of Ontario’s pandemic restrictions have now been lifted and it seems, as politicians and health experts have predicted, the population is starting to “learn to live with COVID-19.”
But what does that really mean? Is Canada, or even Ontario, truly in a position to go about life as normal? What does this mean for those who are immunocompromised? Doe this mean the pandemic is over?
The phrase “learn to live with COVID-19” was first used in Ontario by Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore in late January.
"We have let our lives be controlled for the last two years in a significant amount of fear and now we are going to have to change some of that thinking," he said at the time.
"I think we have to start to understand we have to learn to live with this virus.”
The phrase has since been used by other health officials and politicians as Ontario inches further into its reopening.
On this week’s episode of Life Unmasked, the team speaks with Dr. Peter Jüni, the scientific director of Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, about what it really means to “live with COVID-19.”
He stressed that while public health trends have improved over the past few months, the pandemic is not over and that a cautious approach is still necessary. It's possible, Jüni warned, that measures such as masking and proof of vaccination may need to be implemented again if a new variant of concern is identified or if the province’s health-care system is burdened.
This is the last regularly scheduled episode of Life Unmasked, but the podcast team will be back to address your questions should there be a significant development in the pandemic.
Old episodes of Life Unmasked can be found on the iHeart radio app and other podcast streaming platforms. If you have a question about COVID-19 or want to reach the team, send an email to lifeunmasked@bellmedia.ca.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Air turbulence: When can it become dangerous?
Flight turbulence like that encountered by a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday is extremely common, but there's one aspect of severe turbulence an aviation expert says can lead to serious injury.
B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton hospitalized after prison attack
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton was attacked and sustained life-threatening injuries in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a 'major assault.'
'Mr. Trump doesn't worry us', says Canadian ambassador
As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continues the 'Team Canada' charm offensive to U.S. lawmakers and business leaders, Canada's ambassador to the United States downplayed the effect of another Trump presidency on Canada.
WATCH Why today's inflation numbers are good if you have a mortgage
New inflation data is 'welcome news' for consumers and an economist says it could signal the possibility for a interest rate cut as several core measures also continue to ease.
'Miscommunication' Liberals say of Speaker Fergus event invite Conservatives call partisan
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus is facing fresh Conservative-led calls to resign, this time over "very partisan" and 'inflammatory' language used – the Liberals say mistakenly – to promote an upcoming event.
Toronto Blue Jays fan struck by 110 m.p.h foul ball offered tickets, signed baseball by team
The Toronto Blue Jays have offered tickets and a signed baseball to a fan who says she was struck in the face by a 110 m.p.h (177 km/h) foul ball at Friday’s game.
OPP continues to investigate boat collision north of Kingston, Ont. that left 3 people dead
Ontario Provincial Police continue to investigate a long weekend fatal boat collision on Bobs Lake, north of Kingston, Ont.
opinion Tom Mulcair: With Trudeau spiralling, Mark Carney waits in the wings
In his latest column for CTVNews.ca, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair argues that if there's an unofficial frontrunner in the eventual race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, it has to be former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.
Loblaw boycott organizers say they plan to keep movement going past May
The organizers of a month-long boycott of Loblaw-owned stores say they've decided to extend the boycott past May.